Treehouse with fireplace, cable prompts Schaumburg to consider limits

Dan Alexander built a treehouse on his Schaumburg property seven years ago with a friend. After reading an article about airbnb.com, he decided to rent out his treehouse for guests. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

Dan Alexander built a treehouse on his Schaumburg property seven years ago with a friend. After reading an article about airbnb.com, he decided to rent out his treehouse for guests. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

The green-trimmed treehouse pokes over the roof of the home in front of it.

Available to travelers for $195 a night on airbnb.com, the treehouse, owned by Dan Alexander of Schaumburg, includes a fireplace, small refrigerator and "cushy" robes for travelers, among other amenities, according to the rental listing. The space also offers wireless Internet and cable TV high in a tree in Alexander's backyard.

While it may be a childhood dream to some, the treehouse is being eyed with skepticism by Schaumburg officials, who on Thursday will consider a proposal that would limit the size and height of future structures like this one.

The village's planning and building committee is considering a proposal that would limit treehouses to no more than 100 square feet, and a base height of no more than 25 feet off the ground. Builders would also have to get a $15 permit before starting construction.

"The regulations aren't to impose anything strict or structural … but just to kind of put some reasonable standards," said Julie Fitzgerald, the village director of community development.

If the measure is approved, Schaumburg wouldn't be the first community to regulate treehouses. In some towns, treehouses are governed along with buildings such as gazebos, sheds and detached garages.

In Arlington Heights, for example, officials began regulating treehouses in recent years after neighbors complained about a two-story structure in one backyard. Now, they must be set back from property lines, but no building permit is required, said Village Manager Randy Recklaus.

Dan Alexander poses with his treehouse in Schaumburg earlier this year.

Vernon Hills and Libertyville regulated treehouses as of 2009, the last time the Northwest Municipal Conference surveyed treehouse rules, said Larry Bury, deputy director of the conference.

Schaumburg also considered treehouse regulations years ago but decided against them, officials said.

"However, a treehouse of such an elaborate nature was not contemplated," village staff wrote in a memorandum outlining the proposal.

The goal of Schaumburg's proposal, Fitzgerald said, is to prevent residents from building treehouses that will adversely affect neighboring property. Any new ordinance would not affect Alexander's treehouse, which would be grandfathered in.

At 196 square feet, it would not be allowed under the current proposal.

Alexander said he doesn't often get complaints from neighbors about his treehouse, which he calls a "condo in a tree." He was unsure why officials are proposing the restrictions now, and said he talked with neighbors and Schaumburg officials before building the structure seven years ago. Neighbors could not be reached or declined to comment.

At the time, he said, he planned the treehouse for private use, having wanted a treehouse since he was a boy. When he and his wife were looking to buy their home, he took note of the "fine treehouse tree" in the backyard.

He built it with help from a friend, his son and a treehouse-building book. Though Alexander has carpentry experience — he is a civil rights lawyer by day, but enjoys building and gardening in his spare time — he said the book was very helpful.

It wasn't until after Alexander began offering the space to paying overnight guests about three years ago that the village expressed concern about him renting the treehouse and about whether it complied with building codes, he said. Village officials worked with him to upgrade some aspects of the house, including electrical circuits that allow for a TV and small appliances, he said.

Per Schaumburg village code, Alexander technically does not rent the treehouse itself. He rents rooms in his home and allows free access to his treehouse and backyard, which includes a hot tub and small waterfall.

Alexander and his family use the treehouse when it is not booked by travelers. His teenage children hang out there, and his wife retreats to the treehouse to watch TV and relax, he said.

The structure sways in high winds, Alexander said, but has withstood them.

"It's just sort of otherworldly," Alexander said. "It just does something to you. It just relaxes you."

The treehouse is booked almost every weekend in warm weather, Alexander said, and even a few weekends during the winter.

Some guests are travelers seeking "interesting" or "romantic" getaways, according to reviews on airbnb.com. Some are hipsters from Chicago, people who might otherwise never dream of venturing beyond O'Hare airport, he said. One couple stayed overnight on their way to Ikea, just a few miles down the road.

"It's seriously the coolest thing ever," the Ikea-goer wrote in an online review. "It's like a little castle in the sky."